Belfair lawmaker wants to strengthen shellfish farming

Eickmeyer: A healthier industry promotes a healthier environment

Jan. 25, 2007

OLYMPIA -- Shellfish farming in Hood Canal and in other parts of the state would get a much-needed boost, according to terms of a proposal introduced by state Rep. Bill Eickmeyer, D-Belfair.

A longtime Hood Canal champion, Eickmeyer said his legislation "is intended to make our shellfish-aquaculture regulatory process more efficient.

"The regulatory process needs to be comprehensive and based on solid research in order to provide better protection for our environment, our natural resources, and our recreational opportunities," Eickmeyer said.

He explained that shellfish-regulatory policies "must work in a way that gets the most out of our limited available resources."

"It is imperative that this process be developed cooperatively. Private and public interests -- including folks from the industry, the tribes, and government agencies at all levels -- must work together to find an efficient, consistent vision in the way we go about building and maintaining the resource."

Eickmeyer's plan contained in his House Bill 1728 calls shellfish farming "an historic and well-established industry in Washington providing significant environmental and economic benefits."

Washington's estuaries that feature shellfish aquaculture are among the healthiest waters in the country, he pointed out.

"For one thing, we know that shellfish feeding creates a filtering and recycling process that is absolutely critical in maintaining the health of our ecosystems on the coast," said Eickmeyer, who is vice chair of the House Select Committee on Puget Sound.

"As more and more people bring more and more development to our marine-shoreline areas, it's only natural that this filtering and recycling process will become that much more important," he said.

"Population growth and the pollution discharges that go along with it make it crucial that we do everything we can to bolster shellfish, which are a big part of what you might call Nature's Pollution Control Authority."

Eickmeyer noted a potentially damaging process called "eutrophication," in which there is too much nutrient in coastal waters.

"The filtering and recycling process that is created as a result of shellfish feeding helps counteract this eutrophication."

Eickmeyer, who chaired the former House Select Committee on Hood Canal for two years, also noted that the shellfish-farming industry "has been a big player in the state's rural economy for more than a hundred years.

"A growing number of our citizens have excellent opportunities for year-round employment in good-paying shellfish-farming and processing jobs in the industry."

As it stands today, though, duplication and inconsistency in regulations at the local, state and federal levels of government "are taking dead aim both at the viability of this historic industry and at the health of the resource itself."

The Eickmeyer measure is awaiting further discussion in the Select Committee on Puget Sound.

House Bill 1728: Original Bill.

For broadcast-quality audio on this issue, or to arrange TV or radio interviews, contact Dan Frizzell, House Democratic Caucus broadcast coordinator, at frizzell.dan@leg.wa.gov or (360) 786-7208.

Clint Robbins, House Democratic Caucus communications specialist, at robbins.clint@leg.wa.gov or (360) 786-7323.